Sergio Traversa
Chief Executive Officer
bioRelmada Therapeutics, Inc.
A new approach to treatment
Our company name stems from the word "relief" and represents our goal of providing curative treatments to patients. Currently, Relmada Therapeutics is focused on maximizing shareholder value with the following three priorities: progressing our product pipeline including NDV-01 and sepranolone, exploring product acquisitions opportunities and maintaining resource prioritization. We have always maintained an active surveillance to consider programs that have the potential to be high value assets and meet our key target criteria of:
Innovation
With established proof-of-concept proof points
Near-term value creation drivers
And the potential address well-defined and under-served markets
We have been following the progress of several programs, and our recent efforts identified an additional number of attractive opportunities. After in-depth reviews of several compelling candidates, we recently announced the acquisition of rights to two product candidates, NDV-01, in development for non-muscle invasive bladder cancer, and sepranolone, for compulsion related disorders.
Our team
We bring decades of drug development experience and extensive CNS expertise—many of our employees have previous experience from leading biopharmaceutical companies, including Johnson & Johnson, Eli Lilly, Acorda, Sepracor (now Sunovion), Abbott, Alkermes, Sandoz, Novartis, Bayer, Merck, Sanofi, and Roche.
Our scientific advisory board spans world-class academic and medical institutions, such as Harvard University, Massachusetts General Hospital, Cornell University, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Hospital, MD Anderson Cancer Network, and Mount Sinai Hospital.
Leadership
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About Sergio Traversa
Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
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About Maged Shenouda
Chief Financial Officer
Maged Shenouda previously served as CFO and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. Prior to his tenure at AzurRx, Mr. Shenouda was Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development and Licensing at Retrophin, Inc. Before this, Mr. Shenouda spent the bulk of his career on Wall Street as an equity research analyst. He held senior level positions at UBS, JP Morgan and Stifel Nicolaus, covering a broad range of small and large capitalization biotechnology companies. Mr. Shenouda started his sell-side equity research career at Citigroup and Bear Stearns where his coverage universe focused on U.S and European pharmaceutical companies. Before entering Wall Street, he was a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers Pharmaceutical Consulting practice and also spent time in pharmaceutical sales, having worked as a hospital representative and managed care specialist for Abbott Laboratories Pharmaceutical Products Division. He earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John's University and is a registered pharmacist in New Jersey and California. He also received an M.B.A from Rutgers Graduate School of Management.
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About Chuck Ence
Chief Accounting and Compliance Officer
Charles Ence is currently our Chief Accounting and Compliance Officer. From August 2003 until June 2019, Mr. Ence was Chief Financial Officer/Corporate Controller of New Age Beverages Corp/Xing Beverages, LLC located in Denver, Colorado. He managed all the financial affairs of New Age and their other portfolio companies helping lead the firm into becoming one of the top 100 non-alcoholic beverage companies worldwide. He helped guide the expansion of the business to ultimately penetration of 46 states domestically and 10 countries internationally, with consistent growth and profitability throughout his tenure. Mr. Ence was also instrumental in successfully uplisting the company onto the NASDAQ capital market. Prior to New Age, Mr. Ence was a senior executive, Planning Manager and Director of Finance for Quantum Corp. Following Quantum he served as a Director of Finance and Investor Relations at On Command Corp. Mr. Ence began his career at PepsiCo. During his 12 years at PepsiCo, Mr. Ence served as a financial analyst, planning supervisor, planning and analysis manager and ultimately controller.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Accounting from Southern Utah University in 1984, and obtained a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Arizona State University School of Business in 1985.
About Sergio Traversa
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
About Maged Shenouda
Maged Shenouda previously served as CFO and Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for AzurRx BioPharma, Inc. Prior to his tenure at AzurRx, Mr. Shenouda was Senior Vice President and Head of Business Development and Licensing at Retrophin, Inc. Before this, Mr. Shenouda spent the bulk of his career on Wall Street as an equity research analyst. He held senior level positions at UBS, JP Morgan and Stifel Nicolaus, covering a broad range of small and large capitalization biotechnology companies. Mr. Shenouda started his sell-side equity research career at Citigroup and Bear Stearns where his coverage universe focused on U.S and European pharmaceutical companies. Before entering Wall Street, he was a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers Pharmaceutical Consulting practice and also spent time in pharmaceutical sales, having worked as a hospital representative and managed care specialist for Abbott Laboratories Pharmaceutical Products Division. He earned a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John's University and is a registered pharmacist in New Jersey and California. He also received an M.B.A from Rutgers Graduate School of Management.
About Chuck Ence
Charles Ence is currently our Chief Accounting and Compliance Officer. From August 2003 until June 2019, Mr. Ence was Chief Financial Officer/Corporate Controller of New Age Beverages Corp/Xing Beverages, LLC located in Denver, Colorado. He managed all the financial affairs of New Age and their other portfolio companies helping lead the firm into becoming one of the top 100 non-alcoholic beverage companies worldwide. He helped guide the expansion of the business to ultimately penetration of 46 states domestically and 10 countries internationally, with consistent growth and profitability throughout his tenure. Mr. Ence was also instrumental in successfully uplisting the company onto the NASDAQ capital market. Prior to New Age, Mr. Ence was a senior executive, Planning Manager and Director of Finance for Quantum Corp. Following Quantum he served as a Director of Finance and Investor Relations at On Command Corp. Mr. Ence began his career at PepsiCo. During his 12 years at PepsiCo, Mr. Ence served as a financial analyst, planning supervisor, planning and analysis manager and ultimately controller.
He received his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration and Accounting from Southern Utah University in 1984, and obtained a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from Arizona State University School of Business in 1985.
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About Paul Kelly
Chief Operating Officer
Paul Kelly has been actively involved as an analyst, consultant and investor in the biotechnology sector for the past thirty years. He has been a Director of the Company since November, 2015. Additionally, he has been acting as a Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1, 2023. He began as an equity analyst at Mabon Securities in 1993, and later served in the same capacity at UBS Securities, Volpe, Brown, Whalen, ING Securities, and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Kelly was named to the inaugural Fortune Magazine All Star Analyst Team in 2000. Since 2007, Mr. Kelly has engaged in consulting for private and public biotechnology companies and for hedge funds. He currently manages his own investments and continues his industry consulting activities. Mr. Kelly holds an A.B. in biochemistry from Brown University, attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and received an M.B.A in finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.
About Paul Kelly
Paul Kelly has been actively involved as an analyst, consultant and investor in the biotechnology sector for the past thirty years. He has been a Director of the Company since November, 2015. Additionally, he has been acting as a Special Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since January 1, 2023. He began as an equity analyst at Mabon Securities in 1993, and later served in the same capacity at UBS Securities, Volpe, Brown, Whalen, ING Securities, and Merrill Lynch. Mr. Kelly was named to the inaugural Fortune Magazine All Star Analyst Team in 2000. Since 2007, Mr. Kelly has engaged in consulting for private and public biotechnology companies and for hedge funds. He currently manages his own investments and continues his industry consulting activities. Mr. Kelly holds an A.B. in biochemistry from Brown University, attended the University of Rochester School of Medicine, and received an M.B.A in finance from the William E. Simon School at the University of Rochester.
Board of directors
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About Charles J. Casamento
Chairman of the Board
Since 2007 Mr. Casamento has been executive director and principal of The Sage Group, a health care advisory group. He was president and CEO of Osteologix from October 2004 until April 2007. Mr. Casamento was the founder of Questcor Pharmaceuticals where he was president, CEO and chairman. In 2014 Questcor was acquired by Mallinckrodt for approximately $6 Billion. At RiboGene Inc. he was president, CEO and chairman until it merged with another company to form Questcor. He was also co-founder, president and CEO of Indevus (formerly Interneuron Pharmaceuticals). Indevus was eventually acquired by Endo for approximately $800 Million. He has held senior management positions at Genzyme Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Biochemicals and Pharmaceuticals, American Hospital Supply, where he was Vice President of Business Development for the Critical Care Division, Johnson & Johnson, Hoffmann-LaRoche and Sandoz. During his career he has been a Director of fourteen other pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies and has been on the board of two not for profit organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Iona University.
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About John Glasspool
Director
John Glasspool is CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Anthos Therapeutics. Mr. Glasspool is also a member of the Board of Directors of Dalcor Corporation. He was formerly the Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Strategy and Customer Operations at Baxalta Incorporated (NYSE: BXLT), formerly Baxter BioScience (NYSE: BAX). Prior to joining Baxter in August 2012, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Region Europe and Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (NYSE: NVS), a member of the V&D Executive Committee. Mr. Glasspool served as a board member, Vice President and President of the European Vaccine manufacturers (EVM), from 2010 until December 2012. Previously, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Global Pricing & Market Access and Head of Global Commercial Operations in Novartis Pharma, where he led the functions in embedding the needs of customers and consumers for brands at all stages of their lifecycle development, launch, and in market. Mr. Glasspool joined Novartis as Head of Marketing for Neuroscience. He was promoted to Global Head Cardiovascular & Metabolism Business Franchise in 2006, during which time he grew the franchise sales over a three-year period.
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About Fabiana Fedeli
Director
Ms. Fedeli has extensive knowledge of international capital markets, sustainability, governance and corporate strategy. In her current role at M&G Investments, which Ms. Fedeli joined in 2021, she leads a team of over 100 investment professionals with assets deployed across the globe. She is responsible for teams managing assets in the UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and France. Prior to joining M&G Investments, Ms. Fedeli served as Global Head of Fundamental Equities, Managing Director, at Robeco Asset Management, from 2013-2021. In this role, she led Robeco’s Fundamental Equities investments, with over 70 direct and indirect reports based in Rotterdam, Zurich, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Earlier in Ms. Fedeli’s career, she held senior portfolio management and research positions at multiple leading institutional investment firms and investment banks, including Pioneer Investment Management, Occam Asset Management, Indus Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, and ING Barings Corp.
Ms. Fedeli holds a Master of Economics from Hitosubashi University in Tokyo, Japan, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. She also received a Certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the University of Lausanne, Swiss France Institute, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
About Charles J. Casamento
Since 2007 Mr. Casamento has been executive director and principal of The Sage Group, a health care advisory group. He was president and CEO of Osteologix from October 2004 until April 2007. Mr. Casamento was the founder of Questcor Pharmaceuticals where he was president, CEO and chairman. In 2014 Questcor was acquired by Mallinckrodt for approximately $6 Billion. At RiboGene Inc. he was president, CEO and chairman until it merged with another company to form Questcor. He was also co-founder, president and CEO of Indevus (formerly Interneuron Pharmaceuticals). Indevus was eventually acquired by Endo for approximately $800 Million. He has held senior management positions at Genzyme Corporation, where he was Senior Vice President and General Manager for Biochemicals and Pharmaceuticals, American Hospital Supply, where he was Vice President of Business Development for the Critical Care Division, Johnson & Johnson, Hoffmann-LaRoche and Sandoz. During his career he has been a Director of fourteen other pharmaceutical/biotechnology companies and has been on the board of two not for profit organizations. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy from Fordham University and an M.B.A. from Iona University.
About John Glasspool
John Glasspool is CEO and member of the Board of Directors of Anthos Therapeutics. Mr. Glasspool is also a member of the Board of Directors of Dalcor Corporation. He was formerly the Executive Vice President, Head of Corporate Strategy and Customer Operations at Baxalta Incorporated (NYSE: BXLT), formerly Baxter BioScience (NYSE: BAX). Prior to joining Baxter in August 2012, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Region Europe and Novartis Vaccines & Diagnostics (NYSE: NVS), a member of the V&D Executive Committee. Mr. Glasspool served as a board member, Vice President and President of the European Vaccine manufacturers (EVM), from 2010 until December 2012. Previously, Mr. Glasspool was Head of Global Pricing & Market Access and Head of Global Commercial Operations in Novartis Pharma, where he led the functions in embedding the needs of customers and consumers for brands at all stages of their lifecycle development, launch, and in market. Mr. Glasspool joined Novartis as Head of Marketing for Neuroscience. He was promoted to Global Head Cardiovascular & Metabolism Business Franchise in 2006, during which time he grew the franchise sales over a three-year period.
About Fabiana Fedeli
Ms. Fedeli has extensive knowledge of international capital markets, sustainability, governance and corporate strategy. In her current role at M&G Investments, which Ms. Fedeli joined in 2021, she leads a team of over 100 investment professionals with assets deployed across the globe. She is responsible for teams managing assets in the UK, US, Singapore, Hong Kong and France. Prior to joining M&G Investments, Ms. Fedeli served as Global Head of Fundamental Equities, Managing Director, at Robeco Asset Management, from 2013-2021. In this role, she led Robeco’s Fundamental Equities investments, with over 70 direct and indirect reports based in Rotterdam, Zurich, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Earlier in Ms. Fedeli’s career, she held senior portfolio management and research positions at multiple leading institutional investment firms and investment banks, including Pioneer Investment Management, Occam Asset Management, Indus Capital Partners, Lehman Brothers, and ING Barings Corp.
Ms. Fedeli holds a Master of Economics from Hitosubashi University in Tokyo, Japan, and a Bachelor’s in Economics from Bocconi University in Milan, Italy. She also received a Certificate in Financial Asset Management and Engineering from the University of Lausanne, Swiss France Institute, in Lausanne, Switzerland.
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About Sergio Traversa
Chief Executive Officer
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
About Sergio Traversa
Before joining Relmada, Dr. Traversa was the co-founder and CEO of Medeor Inc. a spinoff pharmaceutical company from Cornell University. Dr. Traversa has over twenty-five years of experience in the healthcare sector in the United States and Europe, ranging from management positions in the pharmaceutical industry to investing and strategic advisory roles. He has held financial analyst, portfolio management and strategic advisory positions at large U.S. investment firms specializing in healthcare, including Mehta and Isaly and Mehta partners, ING Barings, Merlin BioMed and Rx Capital.
Dr. Traversa was a founding partner of Ardana Capital, a pharmaceutical and biotechnology investment advisory firm. In Europe, he held the position of Area Manager for Southern Europe of Therakos Inc., a cancer and immunology division of Johnson & Johnson. Prior to Therakos, Dr. Traversa was at Eli Lilly, where he served as Marketing Manager of the Hospital Business Unit. He was also a member of the CNS team at Eli Lilly, where he participated in the launch of Prozac and the early development of Zyprexa and Cymbalta. Dr. Traversa started his career as a sales representative at Farmitalia Carlo Erba, the largest pharmaceutical company in Italy later sold to Pharmacia and now part of Pfizer.
Dr. Traversa holds a Laurea degree in Pharmacy from the University of Turin (Italy) and an MBA in Finance and International Business from the New York University Leonard Stern School of Business.
